The Rottweiler | 
 enlarge | Author: Ruth Rendell
Publisher: Vintage
Category: EBooks
List Price: $9.95
Buy New: $7.96
You Save: $1.99 (20%)
Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 46044
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
ASIN: B0012E3J8I
Publication Date: December 18, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
The first young woman murdered had a bite mark on her neck, prompting the media to dub her killer “The Rottweiler.” As the number of killings grows to two, three, and beyond, that nickname sticks, even though it has become clear that the original bite was incidental. The Rottweiler is a serial garroter, distinguished by his habit of taking a small trinket from each victim as a macabre souvenir.
The strangled young women all lived in the same ethnically diverse London neighborhood near Lisson Grove, so it is here that the police focus their investigation. Soon their suspicions lead them to an antiques shop, where items taken from the victims start turning up amid the clutter. As we get acquainted with the odd assortment of characters who work in and pass through the shop, we sense that one of them will be the Rottweiler’s next victim...unless the meticulous killer makes an uncharacteristic mistake.
Ruth Rendell is in top form here as she deftly propels the narrative, alternating between the inner life of a compulsive killer and the daily affairs of those who live nearby, unknowing yet somehow aware of the unnerving shadow of his presence.
“Ruth Rendell has written some of the best novels of the twentieth century.” —Frances Fyfield
“Rendell’s clear, shapely prose casts the mesmerizing spell of the confessional.” —The New Yorker
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 A Spine-Tingling Mystery March 10, 2008
Carol Burton (Lynchburg, TN)
Ruth Rendell is one of my favorite British authors. She has the capability to make readers care vividly for seemingly ordinary characters. The Rottweiler is one of my favorites of her books.
In this compelling novel, a serial killer is strangling young women and taking a memento from each victim as a macabre trophy. The little trinkets, (earrings and a locket for instance), begin appearing in an Antiques shop on Star Street in Marylebone, London. Rendell introduces us to the tenets of the shop/apartment building: Inez Ferry, a lonely woman struggling with the loss of her husband and the owner of the shop, Will Cobbitt, one of the most compelling characters Rendell has ever created. He is a mentally challenged man who cares deeply for his aunt Becky, who in turn wrestles with feelings of guilt and annoyance at the burden of caring for her nephew. Another tenet is Jeremy Quick, a successful businessman who is devoted to his mother. Zeinab is a mysterious character who shamelessly uses her feminine wiles to procure rich luxuries.
Although the identity of the killer is revealed fairly early in the book, the reader is still unable to stop reading the story. We, along with the killer, long to know why such horrible deeds are being committed. With the killer, we too travel an arduous journey, drawn by an unnameable force to discover answers. The ending result is a heartwrenching shock. This novel is psychological suspense at its best. Please give it a chance.
Quirky characters, quirky plot! February 15, 2008
S. Schwartz (alberta canada)
This book of Ruth Rendell's is less of a mystery since we learn the identity of the killer quite early, and more of a true psychological study. We examine the psychological profile of the killer who is a self-absorbed psychopath, as well as the breakdown of a borderline personality in the character of Will. And we see how the personalities of these two people affect all of the the other people that interact with them. As I read I kept expecting something truly horrible to happen. (as if the murders of five young women wasn't bad enough). I truly felt sorry for Will's aunt Becky as she is drawn into a life that brings her down. She goes from a successful single businesswoman, to one eaten up by guilt and reliant on alcohol to get her through the days. Rendell can portray characters like no one else, and the deep spiral that so many of these characters are on make for compelling reading.
 Tame Mystery, Full of Quirky Characters September 21, 2007
Jennifer Terry (Parker, CO United States)
I am not a die-hard mystery reader, although I do like the occasional mystery, and this is my first Ruth Rendell novel. I can't say that it made me want to read more of her work.
The Rottweiler revolves around a small antique store in London. The characters who work in, visit, and hang around the shop are the key to a series of murders in the city. Mistakenly dubbed "the Rottweiler" because a bite mark appeared on his first victim, the murderer garrotes young women and removes trinkets from their bodies as souvenirs. From the intuitive widow who owns the antique store, Inez, to a good-looking laborer with the intelligence of a six-year-old, Will, all of the characters are quirky outsiders in their own way and all have a part to play in the mystery.
The premise of the story is rather standard, but the idea of the characters made it more interesting. Unfortunately, Rendell didn't carry it off. Despite the characters' quirkiness, none of them are sympathetic enough to draw the reader into the story. All of them instead seem more like stereotypes, especially Will, who seems like a shallower version of Tim, the very special, fascinating character created by Colleen McCullough. The narrative itself jumps around between the characters, which, instead of giving the reader a complete picture of the scene and action, makes the story feel a bit plodding. On the subject of the mystery itself, the serial killings, the reader finds out the identity of the killer about halfway through the book and there isn't enough suspense to take the place of that mystery. Instead, the reader is supposed to be drawn into why the killer kills, but I just found myself waiting for the end of the book. Also, mysteries are all about attention to detail and it really bothered me that the writer (and her editor) kept mixing up the trinkets the killer kept. In one scene, the trinkets include a lighter, some earrings, and a keyring. In another, later, scene, the keyring is replaced by a watch, which was planted in the antique shop by the killer earlier in the book (this isn't a spoiler - this information is on the jacket). Since these trinkets were key to the plot, this was an important oversight.
Overall, The Rottweiler was fine. It wasn't awful and it wasn't fantastic. I wanted to find out what happened, but was not surprised, delighted, or shocked when the end came - instead, it was exactly what I expected and I didn't really care what happened to the characters after the action's conclusion. I can't say that this book made me hungry for any more of Rendell's work, despite the predominately positive reviews.
Rottweiler has plenty of teeth December 12, 2006
Blue (Washington, DC United States)
This is a late (for the book's age) review, but I wanted to add my admiration for Rendell's unfailing ability to construct wonderful stories that are even better character studies. Her principal characters are usually way off center, but not perceived as being as dangerous or as bizaare as they really are by the rest of the world. "The Rottweiler" is a very good example of mundane/normal/boring vs. crazy/malevolent. A good read and worthy of Rendell's well-earned reputation as a master writer of good literature, not to mention one of the best mystery writers alive.
Lacks the zip of her earlier work September 27, 2006
SkookumPete (United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
At her best -- and I think you have to go back a decade or so to find her best non-Wexfords -- Rendell creates a wonderful sense of tension by portraying characters who have some flaw or tendency that inexorably draws them into the darkness. That kind of tension is really lacking in this book.
We have the setting Rendell/Vine uses so often: a London house full of disparate residents and their friends. But none of them really engages us; in fact, some of them are mere caricatures. Even the killer seems far too rational and self-examining to have committed the crimes we are told he or she is guilty of. We spend a lot of time with characters who have almost nothing to do with the main story. The police drift in and out of the picture as if they are investigating a serial killer in their spare time.
My advice if you need a Rendell fix: go back and read Live Flesh or A Demon in My View. They're far more gripping and believable.
One minor gripe: why do American publishers feel they need to rewrite books for their audience? No one in Britain refers to football as "soccer", and seeing this word in a British context is really jarring. One wonders how much other local color has been eliminated or rewritten for fear that poor ignorant American readers will be confused.
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